Shiny Key Stuff

Keyport

Just take a gander for a moment. It's okay. I'll wait.

Okay?

So yeah. I got one yesterday and I wanted to share some thoughts.

First of all, I should note that I've been something of a nightmare customer. I changed my order, spammed a bit with follow-up emails, and had minor issues.

These guys are champs when it comes to customer service. They're responsive, polite, and easy to work with. For that alone, I would recommend them.

So a Keyport is a fob about three inches long (small enough to fit in my closed fist) that can hold up to three keys blades. When you order a Keyport, you pick a color for the actual fob, then you print up one of their order forms. You can opt for two packages:

* The regular package (for normal keys)
* The automobile package (for auto keys with chips in 'em)

The order form has six slots on it. You put your six chosen keys on it, put a smidge of tape over the teeth of the keys (for security purposes), take snapshots of both sides of the key, then scribble down any number-and-letter codes on your keys (there's a surprising amount of these on each key).

Email the two photos of the form to them. In a couple of days, they email you back with the list of keys and some arcane codes associated with the indicated keys. If you've got a chipped auto key in the mix, you should be prepared to send a chipped copy off to them for conversion.

So what happens is that when the order is ready, Keyport mails you a package containing:

* The fob (and some nifty little color button/slide thingies)
* Up to six key blades

The key "blades" are blanks that match your keys from the form you submitted. They're essentially just the important part of the keys without the wide parts on the end. They've instead got little plastic caps.

You then take the blades to a locksmith and have them ground down. Test them on the appropriate locks. If they work, you put the little button/slide thingies on the key blades and put them into the fob. Then you're good to go.

The entire process is remarkably easy and the fob is really neat. I'd be using mine right now, but it turns out that one of my more important keys was misidentified somewhere along the way (I probably missed a code or something). The fine folks at Keyport, being rock stars, are mailing me a replacement while I return the "bad" key blade.

Once I have the replacement, I'll just get it ground, put it in the fob, and I'm good to go.

It's a hardy-looking little thing. The packaging is very shiny and cool. The instructions are remarkably clear.

All said, I have to say I'm impressed with this. I'd recommend it to anyone.

A bit of a caveat: if you're thinking of getting an auto key included, check with your auto manufacturer and price getting a duplicate, chipped key. Those puppies are expensive. I considered getting one of mine in the Keyport, but the process of getting the duplicate was nearly twice the cost of the Keyport.

Not really money I need to spend.

So, in summary: Keyport shiny and very, very cool.